1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to computer systems, and more particularly to a computerized system for dynamic generation and display of catalog information, especially for the Internet.
2. Description of Related Art
The Internet increasingly has become used for online transaction processing (OLTP). One particular type of OLTP involves electronic purchase of goods. The growth of such transactions in the past few years has been phenomenal. For example, according to the April 1996 issue of the Nielson Report, there were 2.7 million credit card processing terminals, and credit card transactions processed in the U.S. reached 6.3 million.
Considering the expected growth in such transactions with the advent of the Internet, there will be a concomitant demand for computer systems that can process the increased volume of transactions. A major requirement for such systems will be the ability to adapt quickly to market demands.
Traditional OLTP systems have been expensive for three main reason. First, the systems were closed or proprietary. Transactions processing providers typically offered hardware and software from the same vendor. However, limited competition and expensive hardware and operating system software license and maintenance fees made transaction processing cost prohibitive for small users. Second, the use of communication technology, such as leased lines and wide area network, was typically quite costly and thus the cost of establishing an infrastructure for wide availability of OLTP for a particular enterprise was often prohibitive for small users. Third, customized OLTP systems were developed with expensive development tools and programming languages that required a substantial investment in acquisition, personnel, training, and support, again beyond the means of small users.
The Internet has substantially reduced the cost of communication for an OLTP system. Further, the cost of computing has been substantially reduced and operating systems capable of supporting OLTP on standard computing equipment are now available at reasonable cost. However, the cost of implementing a customized OLTP system still remains quite high for small users. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an easy to use system that a small user could customize to its needs without having to be trained in OLTP programming or incurring a large expense in hiring trained staff capable of such programming. The present invention provides a system and method for permitting users to implement an OLTP system that meets this need.